Everything they needed for their journey had been prepared beforehand by Mira. Uche had packed all his luggage, and the same went for Mira. Now, the house looked rather empty after some unwanted items had been discarded. All they needed now was to leave and begin their journey to the vampire world.
Uche cast a long, last look at the large apartment as they both stepped out. He couldn't help but ask:
"Are you just going to leave it here like this?"
"What? Am I supposed to take it with me?"
Mira asked, already tapping the screen of her wristwatch, probably to summon her trusted bike.
"I mean—"
"Don't worry. I already put it on sale. The new owner will take possession of it in two hours,"
She interrupted him.
"Oh wow, that's great of you,"
Uche replied. Mira had claimed that she bought the house when she first came to the human world, so Uche knew it would have been a waste to leave it empty. It seemed she had already taken care of that.
"Now, shall we set off?"
Mira said with a smile.
Uche nodded, finally moving his gaze away from the apartment. Then he turned around, but his heart skipped a beat immediately as he took several steps back.
"What... is this?"
Uche asked, still stepping back with his hand pointing at a strange object that had just appeared in front of them.
The object stood no taller than a laptop, but hovering above it was something Uche had never seen before. It looked like a shimmering light of different colors, radiating from a round shape. Azure blue dominated the surface, but deeper within, shades of various colors shone brightly.
Uche had never encountered something like this before. It looked magical, but it also terrified him.
Mira couldn't help but laugh at the frightened look on Uche's face.
"Ha haha, you're overreacting. This is a teleporter, and it will take us back home,"
Mira said, pointing at the shimmering circle.
"A teleporter? You mean one of those magical devices that can transport someone from one world to another in an instant?"
Uche asked, a hint of disbelief on his face.
Mira nodded.
"Exactly. The teleporter device has opened a one-time portal that will take us into the badlands,"
She said.
Uche couldn't help but stare in disbelief. Now, it all made sense. He had been wondering how they would travel to the vampire world. He always thought it was just another city or perhaps another country exclusively inhabited by vampires, but he was wrong.
The vampire world existed in an entirely different dimension—perhaps another planet, though he wasn't sure. All he knew was that it wasn't on Earth.
"So teleporters really do exist,"
Uche muttered, moving closer to Mira.
"Yes, and you'll find many other amazing devices when we get there. Let's not waste time—they're waiting for us,"
Mira said, walking into the shimmering portal.
'It seems vampires are really advanced in technology,'
Uche thought, slowly following Mira. It felt as though he was walking into a fantasy world.
As they both stepped into the portal, Uche immediately felt... nothing. It was as though all his senses had been extinguished. He felt numb as dazzling rays of light flashed before him.
It lasted only a few seconds before Uche felt his feet on a solid surface again, indicating they had landed.
Opening his eyes, the first thing he saw was a vast expanse of barren land stretching endlessly. Not a single plant or sign of life was in sight.
It was a desert.
They were standing on a tall mountain, providing a clear view of the dry, lifeless landscape. Uche looked around but couldn't see any signs of civilization, so he asked:
"Is this the vampire world?"
"No, we've just entered the badlands,"
Mira said, staring into the distance with a faint smile.
"The badlands?"
Uche asked, confused.
"Yes. This place is very dangerous, teeming with all kinds of creatures. You'll soon understand what I mean,"
Mira replied.
"But why here?"
Uche asked, looking skeptical.
"It's because of the teleporter device we used. Although it will burn to ashes as soon as the portal closes behind us, there's a chance it might fail to do so. If someone finds it and repairs it, they could try to use it. To avoid that, we set the coordinates to the badlands, a place where ordinary humans cannot survive,"
She explained.
Uche thought about it for a moment and then said:
"So the teleporter will burn to ashes as soon as the portal closes?"
"Yes,"
Mira nodded.
"But there's a chance it might not completely burn. While it's useless after one use, some human genius might repair it and learn what it is. It's better to be safe than sorry."
Uche said nothing further. Standing beside her, he stared into the horizon before asking:
"Are we going to cross this desert?"
"Yes, and we—"
She was interrupted by a loud screech from above. Looking up, an enormous bird-like creature was diving toward them.
The creature had the head of a wolf, its mouth wide enough to swallow them whole. Its enormous wings cast an eerie shadow over them, and its arms were as large as two grown men's.
Mira reacted instantly, grabbing Uche, who was paralyzed with fear as he stared at the incoming creature. She held him by the waist, and they both dove away just as the beast struck.
The bird screeched again, following them with terrifying speed, ten times faster than they could anticipate.